Annealing box



F. E. MESTA ANNEALING BOX Nov. 1ol l`1925- mzifHuHHHUHHHH nw... H. u12-11.11- Il-- l- 13, 1925 Fzl Filed Jan m 0. sa. 1 J

Patented Nov. l0, 192.5.-

7 UNITEDQSTIATES FREDERICK It MESTA, or WESTHOMESTEAD,j11EimSYLvii.-1\mi, AssIGiiion To MESTA MACHINE COMPANY, orPITTSBURGH, IHNNSYLVANIA, A CoItIoRATIoN or* PENN- SYLvANIn.

ANNEALING Box.

Application kinea January 13, 1925. serial No. 2,142. i

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK E. 4MESTA,

- a citizen of the United States, residing at West Homestead, in thecounty of .Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Annealing Boxes,.of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

TheA present invention relates broadly to annealing boxes, and moreparticularly to covers of the cast type as commonly used in the art.'

At theresent time, the high requirements of manu acture as to thequality of sheets, particularly where used in automotive manufacture,`has made the question of anneal? ing boxes of prime importance.

As cast annealing boxes of the larges sizes quite-frequently weigh from15,000 to 20,000 pounds stand,- it'will be apparent that any sof and aresold on the pound basi's, it becomes apparent that it is desirable tokeep the weightas low as possible while maintaining the desiredAcharacteristics as to strength and durability. As the life of boxes ismeasured by the number of heats they can withincrease in the number ofheats means a re the cost per pound of sheets annealed therein.

.It is essential to provide a box having a minimum amount of .clearancebetween the interior of the side walls and the edges of' the sheets withwhich the box is to'be used. as in this manner the amount of air tendingto produce oxidation of the sheets, and the body of air tending toblanket heat transmissionv from the box to the sheets are `bothreduced.This results in a better quality sheet and enables the annealingtemperature of the sheets to be reached with a lower box temperature,and consequently less damage to the box.

One of the chief difficulties with boxes as heretofore constructed hasbeen the tendency ofthe top to sag and the sides to bulge or crack.v Thebulging of the sides frequently reduces the box dimensions to such anextent that continued use-thereof with sheets of thesize -forwhich itwas constructed is impossible, while cracks permit infiltration of airwith resulting increased oxidation.

It is one of the objects ofthe present invent-ion to construct a -box ofminimum weight, minimum clearance or air Space and maximum strength withrespect to the number of heats. v v InA the accompanying drawin s thereis shown, for purposes of illustration only, a

Figure 2 is-a topplan View, partly broken,`

` away and partly in section, of the box shown inFigure1;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line III-III of Figure 1,looking in the direction of the arrows; an

Figurev 4 is. an end elevation'of the box. U5

In carrying out the present invention, there may be provided a cast body2 having por-tions of its side, end and top walls Vdisplaced out` of themain plane of the bod to provide reinforcing ribs or swells 3. -Pre4erably this displacement will not only be outwardly relatively-to theplane of the box body but also outwardly relatively to the interior ofthe bom-whereby the. relatively flat portions 4 connecting adjacentreinforcements will define the major portion of the interior walls,thereby reducing the air space to a minimum. The reinforcements 3 in theside walls are preferably continued entirely across the top 5 of thebox, whereby a, continuousv reinforcement in a common transverse planefor both the side walls and the topv is provided with each of theswells. The end swells, however,.as clearlyl indi'- `cated iii Figures 2and 4, preferably terminate at substantially the junction of the endvwalls and the roof.

' At its lower edge the box coveris conven-y I iently formed with areinforced edge or base 6 adapted to. cooperate with a box bottom,

as well understood in the art. As this portion of the box is usuallyprotected, tofsomeV extent at least, by sand or other sealing materialprovided for the purpose of cutting down air leakage to a minimum, it isnot subjected in use to the high temperature differences to which theremainder of thebox is subjected. For these reasons, vthe reinforcements3 may gradually die outadja- ,-cent the bottom edge as shown in thedrawglhe roof 5 vis preferably transversely arched to obtainadditionalstrength, tending to prevent sagging of the top during use, andthe endsmay be formed with suitable hooksor projections 7, facilitating liftingof the4 cover.

I vamaware that it has heretofore been proposed to construct cast boxeshaving reinforcements formed by displacing a portion of the box body outof .the plane -thereof, wherebya substantially uniform thiol@ nessthroughout the body and the reinforcements to obviate abrupt changes'insection is provided. Such reinforcements not only provide additionalstrength but serve to permit longitudinal expansion and contraction,

` as well understood in the-art. The bottom edge of such boxesordinarily tendsto prevent any undue changes in dimension of thisportion under contraction and. expansion dueto temperature changes, butafter; a certain number of heats the 4top commences to the cover butalsoserving. to further st iifen the side walls. In actual use, however,un

t der the extreme tempera-turesl to "which the b oxes are subjected,.these `ribs tend' to 'fall overlaterally vagainst the sides of thereinforcements, thereby shortening their overall length'and permittingthe objectionable sagging before 'referred to.

'5I have found that this saggingcan `beJ very materially reduced by theprovision of short tie ribs 9 extending from the main rib to the sidesof the reinforcements. It is essential,-

l however, that these tie ribs or braces be stagincrease the strength of.the rbox without regered, as clearly indicated in the drawings,

so as not to destroy the'flexible characteristlcsof the reinforcements,but still serving to hold the ribs 8 against distortion, whereby the oriinal strength of the box is main- T veprovision of these short braces orribs 9 constitutes a very important feature of the present invention asthey greatly ducin'g its susceptibility to expansion and contractionwithout cracking during successive periods ofheating `and cooling.

For further strengthening the box I have found itdesirable to tie thesides of successive reinforcements 3 together by means of outwardly`projecting longitudinally extending ribs 10 and ribs .through-out themain unbroken bodies continuously'acrossthe reinforcements 3, asotherwisethey wouldl interfere with the fiexibility for which thereinforcen-lents are relied upon. At the corners ofthe boxes the ribs l0preferably die down, as clearly indicated in AFigure 2, as the cornersthemselves function somewhat in the manner ofthe swells orreinforcements 3. The advantages of the present invention arise from theprovision of a cast annealing box having reinforcements formed by dis--placing a portion ofthe.l body -out of the main plane'thereof to formswells, and further reinforcing these swells by centrally extending ribswhich are in tur'n tied to the sides of the swells bystaggered braces.

.Further advantages arise from the provision of a box of this characterhaving longitudinally extending reinforcing ribs tending to tie thesides of adjacent swells without interfering with the expansion l andcontraction of the'box.v '4 v I claim:

l. In an annealing box, a supporting wall having portions thereofswelled to form reinforcements, ribs` extending lengthwise throughout aportion at least of some of said swells', and means fortying said ribsto ati l' least one side wall of the; swell, substantially as described.

2.' In an annealing box, a supporting wall having portions thereofswelled to form reinforcements,. 'ribs extending lengthwise `throughouta portion at least of some of said swells, and means for tying oppositesides of said ribs to the walls' onboth sides of -the swell,substantially as described.`

3. In an annealing box, a supporting wall having portions thereofswelled to form freinforcements, ribs extending lengthwise throughout aportion'at lleast of some of said swells, andstaggered means fortyingopposite sides of said ribs to the walls on both sides of the swell,substantially as described.

4. In an annealing box, a supporting wall having portions thereofswelled lto form reinforcements, 'a rib extending lengthwise vthroughouta Vportion at least of each swell,

and means fortyingv said rib to the walls of the swell, substantially asdescribed.

5. In anannealing box,'a supporting wall having portions thereof swelledto form reinforcements, a rib extending lengthwise throughout'a'portionat least of each swell,

and staggered'y means for tying said rib to the walls ofthe swell,substantially as de# scribed.

6. In an' annealing box, a supporting wall having portions thereofswelled outwardly to form reinforcements, inwardly project- 1,560,708 vy B ing ribs in said reinforcements, and means gered on opbosite sidesof the ribs to tie the for tying said ribs to the walls of vthe swells,same to the walls of the swells, substantially v lsubstantially asdescribed. as described. g

7 In an'annealing box, a supporting wall In testimony whereof I havehereunto set 5 having portions thereof swelled outwardly my hand. l

to form reinforcements, inwardly projecting ribs in said reinforcements,and means stag- F. E. MESTA.

